Mercury Drag Racing: A Golden Era of Performance Cougars, Comets and Cyclones... and Montereys, Marauders, Montegos and More

The Mercury brand played a vital role in the golden era of domestic automotive performance that lasted from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s. The vehicles of the Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford Motor Company embraced performance on the drag strips of America as a means of marketing their product to the youth market. Familiar Ford racing names like Fran Hernandez, Bill Stroppe, Holman & Moody, and Dearborn Steel Tubing were involved with Lincoln-Mercury products, too. Mercury racers and cars were pioneers in the development of stock-based drag racing, the evolution to altered wheelbase, lightweight, and experimental cars, and then into the Funny Car era with flip tops driven by the likes of Dyno Don Nicholson and Ed Schartman. While the Mercury brand is no longer with us today, the legacy of its cars should not be forgotten, and they did more than play second fiddle to their Blue Oval stablemates. Mercury Drag Racing is a guide to the heroes and high-horsepower creations that still hold a special place in the hearts of drag racing fans.Author Charlie Morris has been a die-hard fan of the products of Ford Motor Company since the day he watched the 1960 Daytona 500. His love of the Mercury line began in 1962 when he took note of two new Montereys owned by a neighboring family, in particular gleaming black S-55 model that inspired his recently restored ’62 Monterey he calls, “Storm Warning.” His personal experiences have been in drag racing, having raced in M/Stock and Super Stock, and also crewing an Alcohol Funny Car and a Pro Stock Ford Thunderbird. He was also the engine builder and crew chief of a championship-winning Nostalgia Super Stock Ford Galaxie. He is the author of many previous books on drag racing including Ford Drag Team, Thunderbolt, Ford Y-Block, and The Adventures of Al Joniec, Ford Drag Racer. Charlie resides in Florida with his wife, Gale. Read more